It was a typical day. I woke up early before my parents and got ready to go running in the park near our house. Running without music seemed almost impossible to me; it seemed as though my body responded to physical activities better when music was playing through my ears. My iPod was full of my favorite songs and was ready to flow energy into my feet. I pressed the round button of play but... what was it playing? I have never heard such a thing! Never put it on my iPod! My finger slipped on the left arrow to skip it, but something stopped it. It was The Miracle of Words...

It wasn't a song or poem; someone was reciting some words with a very fascinating and melodious rhythm. I couldn't make out the words, never heard the language spoken in it. However, its effect was so strong that for a second, I couldn't move. It seemed as if I had been exposed to an electric shock. I replayed it a thousand times, and each time my feelings arose stronger than before.

I rushed home to find out who the writer of these words was and who was reciting them and more importantly who put it on my iPod. The latter mystery was solved quite easily; I’d downloaded it from the net instead of another song, but how I’d made such a mistake, I never found out.

To find the writer of those words, I didn't know where to search. Since I didn't understand it and didn't know the language, I couldn't search for it on the net. So I decided to play it for my father who knew some languages. He recognized it instantly...

The day after the incident, I went to the nearest bookshop and to the surprise of the shopkeeper, I bought the book-of course the English translation- that carried those enchanting words. I couldn't wait longer, so the second that he handed me the book I started reading it.

The content was deep and compelling, however, the feeling that I experienced by hearing the original words did not arise in me by reading the translation. But the book still was so absorbing that I finished it in a matter of days.

I wasn't satisfied. I had to figure out the secret of the original words. It became a matter of life and death for me; I had to pursue it, or my life would have lost its meaning. So, I decided to learn the language of the book. It was a very formidable decision since the language was not in the least like my own and it was considered to be one of the hardest languages in the world.

Nevertheless, I found a place and started learning it. It took me months to be able to read some words of the book and understand their meaning, however, the more I learned, the more voracious I became in following the path I had chosen.

Gradually, I came to realize some of the extraordinary aspects of the word choice of that book. The words were chosen based on a careful and precise symmetry as well as coordination; they were irreplaceable since they were so firmly bound together both in meaning and tone. If you had replaced a word with its close synonym, the whole sentence and even the entire part would have become inconsistent and wouldn’t have had the same effect at all.

Moreover, the careful choice of the words in each part had a direct influence over the tone of that part; sometimes cautionary and awakening, sometimes annunciatory and promising, and in both cases pierces instantly into your heart. Reading the words makes you feel like you are reciting a melodious poem written in prose style, yet no poem or prose could be considered equal to it.

In a few months, the charm of the Quran’s words changed me into a whole new person; from an aimless and disconcerted girl to one whose purpose is as clear as daylight, full of hope and positivity. This experience that marked a turning point in my life came to me as a miracle; you too can go on the same journey and find your way out; just hear these words once and feel the difference by yourself.

References:

1. Mohammad Hadi Ma'arefat. Qur’anic sciences. Qom: Al tahmid, 1381.
2. new muslim

As a child, I always had access to a short-wave radio.  I used to listen to the BBC World Service about the Middle East.  I also loved the music from that part of the world, and I probably was listening to the Quran being recited but did not know it at the time.

As I grew older, I continued to listen to the BBC World Service.  Back then, they had a program called Words of Faith in which they had a five- to an eight-minute talk given by a different religious speaker each day of the week representing all the major religions in the United Kingdom.  Out of all the speakers, the Muslims were the ones I loved listening to most.

Every time the Muslim representative spoke, I wanted to find out more about Islam.  My impression of the religion was that the person who practices Islam is a happy person, not like the mean people portrayed by the American media.  I just refused to believe people that loved Allah so much could be like the people portrayed by the media.  Because I come from a Jewish background, the thing that united me with Islam was the belief that Allah had no partners.

Work in the United Kingdom

An important time in my life came when I met a real Muslim but did not know it yet.  I was doing contracting computer programming work in New York State when I had a strong urge to visit the United Kingdom.

[…]

Meeting a Real Muslim for the First Time

Sometime after I started working at LogoTech, I found out that my supervisor, Anis Karim, was Muslim.  I asked him if he knew how I could get a copy of the Quran.  To my surprise, he obtained a copy of the Quran for me within a few days. […] The next day, while eating breakfast, I started to read.  Later I found out that “read” is what Allah had the Angel Gabriel instruct our beloved Prophet to do, even though he could not read or write!

Well, words can’t describe how I felt when I read just that small portion of the world’s most holy book.  It took only 10 pages, when, at that point, I told myself that this religion was for me.  This occurred around 1990.  The more I read, the more I wanted to know, and I loved what I was reading.

At the time, I did not know anything about how to pray or any of the details of Islam.  If Anis had invited me to go to the masjid [mosque] in London, I would have gone with him. […]   At the time, I knew that Muslims prayed several times a day, and so I started to do so at night before I went to bed and in the morning when I woke up.

[…]

My First Trip to a Masjid

[…] My sister asked me if I could help her find Islamic jewelry as a gift.  At that time I had no idea that there were Muslims in Huntsville.

Then Allah put things into place for me.  I remembered that there was a shop called Crescent Imports, which I thought was run by Muslims.  It was not.  It was run by the group called Nation of Islam.  […]

I do thank Allah for having them direct me to the masjid. […]I spoke to the imam, and he invited me to perform salat (Prayer) with the Muslim brothers.  This was a turning point in my life.  I loved it and started to visit the masjid once a week at night.  Then I started to visit it several times a week at night.  The urge to come more times was stronger and I now perform most of my prayers at the masjid, except `Asr and Maghrib prayers when I am at work.

I Officially Accepted Islam in Peace

In November of 1996, I publicly made Shahadah.  At work, I pray Zhuhr and Asr by myself or with other Muslim brothers in a small mosque in my workplace.  I proudly carry my prayer rug in the hallways at my work in an attempt to get people to ask me what they are.  When they do ask me about it, I tell them that I am Muslim and the mats are what I use to pray on.  Also, my work area, including my computer, is decorated with Islamic artwork.  My background on my computer is usually the Kaaba or our masjid.

Now that I am a Muslim, there is no turning back to disbelief!

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